Hillsborough Park Sheffield: Council parks boss issues update on repairs after Tramlines festival damage

Bosses believe a Sheffield park which suffered major damage as a result of the Tramlines festival, is now close to a return to normal.

Some residents in Hillsborough were upset by the condition that Hillsborough Park was left in by the popular festival in July, with the damage closing most of the space during the school summer holidays, limiting access for youngsters.

Large parts of the park were fenced off for reseeding and repair work over the school summer holidays and into the autumn.

Now Councillor Richard Williams, chairman of Sheffield Council's Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: “We know how important Hillsborough Park is to residents, which is why we have been working with Tramlines to restore the park to its usual high quality and return it for community use following this year’s Tramlines Music Festival.

“I am really pleased to see that the majority of the fence lines have now come down and most of the park is now open once again for public use.

“I would like to thank the Tramlines and Council teams for their hard work in restoring the park, and importantly, the local community and Hillsborough Park users for their patience and understanding whilst work took place.

“I remain confident that the Tramlines team will continue to carry out repairs to the highest standard so local people can enjoy the park to the fullest.”

In July 2023, Sheffield experienced its second wettest July on record with the Weston Park weather station recording 176mm (7ins) of rainfall - more than double the 65mm average.

Following this year's festival opinion was divided over whether the event should be held at Hillsborough Park in future.

But at a meeting in September, councillors backed its continued use for the festival.

A council report said use of Graves Park, Norfolk Park and Don Valley Bowl - alongside Sheffield Arena car park had been considered. But they were all 'unsuitable' due to the large number of revellers.

It concluded Hillsborough Park was the only city park with the capacity to host an event of this size and nature, because its size and proximity to both the Supertram network and several bus routes, and the walking distance from the city centre.